"An affirmation, or words of wisdom, that really speaks to me is:"

Amanda Riddell
Nov 16, 2023
1 min read

Well, I'm somewhat shy of talking about my passion for Sondheim's work after people made mountains out of molehills, but here's his mantra: Less Is More Content Dictates Form God Is In The Details All in the service of Clarity - That's what Finishing The Hat opens with. That book changed my life the way that the Jazz Theory book changed Michael Bell's life. 👋

2 Comments

Amanda Riddell

Nov 16, 2023

Re: favourite musical - well, I used to say Sweeney Todd but now I say Follies. At some point in my mid-twenties the codpiece hamminess of Sweeney started ringing false, while Follies is about his milieu and the death of the old-school musical. I like Company, but I think Follies is a far better score, and that's the one that he was passionate about, while Company was something that he was pushed into doing. Assassins is awesome too; very underrated.

Edited

Amanda Riddell

Nov 16, 2023

Replying to

I'm not saying it's great because it's about his milieu; Sunday is set in 19th century France, and that's probably his most popular piece these days. I'm saying it's great because I like old showbiz and it's a great score, though most people think the book is weak. I disagree: I think that Goldman's libretti are the most poetic libretti of any of Sondheim's musicals, without the stiltedness of Lapine's libretti.